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FRANKLIN CLOCKS MADE IN NEUWIED / GERMANY*[1]

Three Wheel
Clocks with four hour dials

Ian D. Fowler
Eugen R.P. Denkel

1. INTRODUCTION

A Franklin clock with a four hour dial is one of the strangest
horological phenomena. This type of clock was made for a period of
about 70 years in very small numbers. Today there exist examples of
longcase, wall and bracket clocks and there is also some early
documented evidence of other examples.

2. DEFINITION OF THE TERM "FRANKLIN CLOCK"

In his "Clockmakers Dictionary" of 1855 Ferdinand Schade [2] still
defines the term "Franklin Clock".
On plate I of his dictionary this clock is illustrated. Thus it still
must have been an accepted concept among clockmakers in Germany.
Original Franklin Clocks differ from conventional clocks in two main
ways : - the train and the dial.
The train consists of only 3 wheels (including the escape wheel) and
two pinions. The typical motion work with minute wheel, reverse minute
wheel, pinion and hour wheel are not used at all in these clocks.
So a special type of dial was needed, and this is the distinctive
feature in contrast to other clocks. It is basically a four hour dial
showing the minutes i.e. 240 divisions, but the following variations
occur:-

In the centre of the dial is a 3 coil spiral engraved or painted which
is divided into quarters corresponding to the four hours taken for one
revolution of the single hand. The periphery of the dial has a minute
ring for 4 hours, i.e. 240 divisions. The clock has a single centre
hand the point of which indicates the minutes and its shaft passes over
the centre hour sectors.

For one revolution the hand has taken four hours to cover all four hour
sectors. These are numbered from one to twelve on the three coils of
the spiral, see illustration No...... The user of the clock must know
roughly what time of day it is in order to read the correct hour number
from the right sector. Thus telling the time with this clock must have
created problems. Nevertheless, the hourly indication by means of the
spiral was retained, at least experimentally, by clockmakers such as
Grant, Smeaton (the famous English civial engineer), and the royal
clockmaker Vulliamy.

2.2 Ferguson´s Dial [3]

Franklin also provided a small seconds dial which Ferguson dispensed
with in his first simplification of Franklin´s dial
illustrated
in Lloyd´s Dictionary [4]. At the same time the spiral
disappears
in favour of three concentric rings divided into 4 quarters. These
rings were then used in later Franklin clocks by Kinzing, Klug and
Porthouse et al. Ferguson tried to reduce further difficulties in
telling the time. In a further design he reintroduced the conventional
minute hand revolving once an hour with the hours and seconds indicated
on discs seen through apertures in the dial.

This later design proves Ferguson’s rejection of
Franklin’s
four hour dial although he (Ferguson) retains Franklin’s
simple
three wheel and two pinion train.

2.3 Kinzing and Roentgen´s dial-

In Neuwied the makers of Franklin clocks employed the first modified
dial by Ferguson with concentric rings.
Each of the three rings is divided into 4 and the periphery of the dial
is marked with the 60 minutes of 4 hours (i.e. 240 minutes), every 5
minute division being numbered. In addition to this in order to ensure
the exact indication of the 12 hours there is a smaller hour hand
pointing to the appropriate concentric ring visible in an aperture in
the body of the central minute hand. This flirting motion is achieved
by a unique mechanism, invented in Neuwied, attached to the minute hand
revolving with it under the dial plate to be described below.

3. The History Of The Franklin Clocks And The People
involved.

The invention of the four hour dial with three wheels and two pinions
is attributed to Benjamin Franklin. The term "Three Wheel clock" is
also used as in the German speaking countries "Dreiräderuhr".
Benjamin Franklin is also the most interesting personality associated
with this type of clock. To understand what motivated this invention we
must know a little more about this important eighteenth century
character. Benjamin Franklin was born on the 17th of January 1706 in
Boston Massachusets. 2. Portrai of Bejamin FranklinIn
1718 he began an apprenticeship as a printer with his brother James. In
1724 at the early age of 18 he embarked on a trip to London where he
stayed until 1726. He worked as a printer with Palmer and then with
Watts. After his reutrn to Philadelphia he established himself as a
printer in the years following. He started up as a publisher and became
interested in politics. He was also author of various social criticisms
and philosophical publications. Among other public offices he was
secretary of the Assembly and of the Philadelphian Postmasters. In the
winter of 1739 he first experimented with the stoves which he invented
and which still today bear his name.
In 1743 Franklin became acquainted with Archibald Spencer and the
latter’s experiments with electricity. In 1746 he began to
experiment with electricity himself and in 1747 Franklin corresponds
with Peter Collins in London about his experiments. In 1751 the results
of his Experiments & Observations on Electricity appear in
London.
His discoveries and deductions form the basis of a new pattern of
physics and even today many of his statements are still valid. Franklin
was honoured by several universities for his above mentioned
activities. In 1753 he was awarded a M.A. at Harvard, and at Yale. On
November 30th 1753 he was awarded the Coply Medal of the Royal Society
in London. By now Franklin must have been a man of renown in informed
circles in Europe. In 1756 Emanuel Kant describes him in an essay as
"the Prometheus of modern times". In the same year he became a member
of the Royal Society. This international popularity plays an important
role in connection with the Franklin clocks by Kinzing and Roentgen
from Neuwied and reference will be made to it later. [5]

3.1 The reasons why Franklin developed the clock.

As already mentioned Franklin was very much involved in public affairs
and the politics of the North American Colonies. By inventing this type
of clock he was presumably trying to provide the early settlers with a
cheaper alternative. It might be thought that such a simple clock with
so few parts would cost less to make, and the material costs would be
reduced in comparison to the traditional English longcase clock that
was still copied in the colonies. The latter could only really be
afforded by wealthier members of the society. Franklin was well aware
of the needs of the early colonists in North America and was very
interested in improving the general conditions of his fellow people.
His knowledge of their plight coupled with his scientific and technical
experience inspired him to invent such a clock.
Ferguson, on the other hand, could have had different reasons for
developing the Franklin clock. He was an astronomer and scientist and
thus more interested in producing an accurate timepiece. Obviously a
clock with as few parts as possible is not so much subject to faults in
the mechanism and qualifies as a precision timekeeper.
Ferguson
was born 1710 in Keith, Banffshire. In his youth he is said to
have looked after sheep. From 1743 he lived in No.4 Bolt Court,
Fleet Street, London. He made a living by painting portraits and
received an allowance from King George. He also spent a lot of time on
scientific research, published astronomical tables and gave lectures.
In 1773 he published both the clock designs mentioned above in 2.1 in
his book entitled "Mechanical Exercises". Initially he describes
Franklins Clock as follows:- “A clock shewing the Hours,
Minutes,
and Seconds, having only three Wheels and two Pinions in the whole
Movement. Invented by Dr. Franklin of Philadelphia”. [3] Thus
attributing the invention to Franklin. At the same time he states that
some clocks according to the “Doctor’s”
design had
been made. He then refers to his own design mentioned earlier in the
description of the dials. In the following years various English
clockmakers also employed Ferguson’s design. Well known
examples
exist by Sam Olive of Lewis, H. Ward 1770, and W. Thompson 1775.
Franklin Clocks were supposed to have been made also by Barber of
Lincoln, John Smeaton of York and his friend Hindley.
A few years earlier, however, in 1764 Franklin embarked upon yet
another political mission to London representing North American
colonies. Thence he went on a three month long journey through Germany
in 1766 and became a member of the Göttingen Academy. From
August
to October of 1767 he stayed in Paris meeting scientists and
intellectuals. In 1769 he returned and became a member of the Paris
Academy of Sciences in 1772. In 1776 he set out on yet another
political mission to Paris and stayed until 1785. In 1777 he moved into
a house in Passay near Paris and it became a lively centre of
intellectual intercourse in Parisian society where Franklin was much
sought after.

3. Franklin in
Paris.

Franklin’s stay in France and Göttingen could have
provided
the impulse for the construction of German Franklin clocks. In the
meantime he had become quite renowned, and famous people such as
Novalis, Körner, Schiller, Herder and Goethe showed repeated
interest in Franklin. Goethe recorded that he followed
Franklin’s
experiments with interest from an early age. Franklin was also
acquainted with the French philosopher Marat who was a close friend of
the famous watchmaker Brequet.4. Portrai of
James Ferguson
In 1757 Franklin
returns to England and stays until 1762. During this
stay he meets James Ferguson the astronomer and a life-long friendship
ensues. In 1757-1762 Franklin travels to Scotland and North England,
Wales, South-West England, and on the Continent through Flanders.
During this period he was awarded honorary doctrates from St.Andrews in
Scotland and from Oxford. The first mention of a Franklin clock is in
1757. A footnote on page 233 of Henderson´s book of the life
of James Ferguson , published in London in 1870 records:- we have in
our possession a small Franklin Horologe, the dial plate is thick
brass, 3 inches in diameter... The works are of extraordinary strong
watch attached to the back of the dial. (Benj. Franklin LLD,1757, is
engraved on the back of the dial outside the watch works).- [6]

4. The Franklin Clock by Roetig of Hachenburg (formerly
Neuwied)

During research into Franklin clocks made in Germany we hit upon an
interesting newspaper article by Anton Lübke "Die
berühmten
Uhrmacher von Hachenburg" [7]. “The famous clockmakers of
Hachenburg. Lübke mentions that Roetig is reported to have
made a
Franklin clock. Translated it reads: - "It was Anton Roetig who, for
many years, was the specialist for organ and harp musical clocks in
Roentgen & Kinzing's firm in Neuwied. His birth date is unknown
(sic), but he died in 1805 in Hachenburg where he started business in
1782 after he sold the Count of Wied a clock "a la franklin" for
sixteen Reichsthaler. Apart from ordinary wall clocks he is reported by
chroniclers to have made complicated musical clocks with organ pipes
and strings. In his book "Abraham und David Roentgen und ihre Neuwieder
Möbelwerkstätte" Huth states (incorrectly) that
examples of
Roetig’s work are unknown.[8] Thus one might conclude that
Roetig
must have made a Franklin clock in 1782 or probably earlier either on
his own initiative or for Kinzing (?). Lübke's article poses
more
questions at one and the same time:-
1. What is the source of Lübke's statement that Roetig made a
Franklin Clock.
2. How did they know about such clocks in Neuwied.
3. Is the clock in question one with hour indicating mechnism in the
minute hand like the later clocks signed “Roentgen&
Kinzing”.
Unfortunately our research has, to date, been only partially successful
so that we can only offer some ideas and speculation. With reference to
1: - Lübke has most likely culled his information from Huths
book
"Abraham und David Roentgen und ......." published in 1928. Huth cites
the Wied family archives as his source. Dr Fabian, however, in his
references some fifty years later states that the documentary evidence
of this clock no longer exists. [9] With reference to 2: -
Ferguson’s
"Mechanical Exercises" was reprinted many times in the eighteenth
century and was well known to those interested in science and astronomy
outside England. The Count of Wied at that time could be considered as
one of these enlightened individuals. It was fashionable in such
circles to take an active interest in scientific studies. The Count of
Wied would also have heard about Franklin's travels and his papers on
electricity. Thus such an interest in the person of Franklin could have
resulted in the wish to own a clock "à la Franklin" and
Roetig´s clock could have been commissioned by the Count. As
Roetig was a recognised expert in the construction of
complicated
musical movements it is by no means improbable that he could have
invented the hand mechanism characteristic of the Neuwied Franklin
clock. Mechanical parts which perform linear movements are not uncommon
in organ making and Roetig could have been well acquainted with such
things. Unfortunately no other mention of a Franklin clock by Roetig
could be found as yet. Lübke also writes in general about the
problem of finding clocks by Roetig:- "Although the author has tried
very hard to find clocks by Johann Anton Roetig he has not succeeded.
However, it is very probable that somewhere musical clocks by him do
exist and many a clock with a musical movement signed by Roentgen
&
Kinzing was in fact made by Roetig." (Translation)
Contrary to this we can say that a few clocks signed "Roetig"
presumably by Johann Anton Roetig, do exist around Hachenburg. These,
however, are simpler longcase clocks (the "Wanduhren" or wall clocks
referred to earlier) [10] although one could mention the famous "Window
Clock" by his son Friedrich Wilhelm Roetig - a swinging pendulum with a
form of Ellicot compensation where the face and movement are
incorporated in the bob. A clock signed Rettig Hachenberg
(sic)
similar to the French "circles tournants" variety exists in the Prague
National Museum of Technology. In 1782 Roetig leaves Neuwied and sets
up business in Hachenburg where he was born. Whether the reason for
this was anything to do with the afore mentioned clock remains pure
speculation. It is also worth mentioning that Roetig was a Catholic
whereas Kinzing was a Mennonite and Roentgen a Moravian. Religious
disagreement could also have been a reason for their parting company.
There could equally well have been economic reasons for his returning
to Hachenburg or simply the wish to work independently in his home town
where a clientele for ordinary domestic longcase clocks had at this
time, as in many other German towns, developed. Most of the clocks
still in existence today signed by Roetig from this period correspond
to the latter type.
If, at some stage, authentic documentary evidence turns up to verify
that the clock "à la Franklin" was made in 1782 and assuming
the
dating of the Kinzing Franklin clocks between 1785 and 1790 is
correct, then Roetig must have made the first Franklin clock
of this type in Germany and perhaps even modified it.
In an interesting sentence Lübke remarks:- "....that a large
proportion of the musical clocks by Kinzing were made in collaboration
with Roetig whereby Roentgen & Kinzing took all the credit and
knew
better how to advertise their products than the more modest Master
Roetig. Master Kinzing is not to be found in Carl Schulte´s
"Lexikon der Uhrmacherkunst" published in Berlin 1901 althought Johann
Anton Roetig is recorded as a producer of large domestic clocks with
organ and harp playing movements"

5.The Franklin Clocks Made By Roentgen And
Kinzing, Neuwied

It is quite possible that Roentgen and Kinzing met Franklin or close
acquaintances of the latter in Paris. Roentgen and Kinzing were there
on numerous business trips between 1774 and 1785 at the same time as
Franklin was in residence there. Roentgen and Kinzing advertised in
French newspapers which in turn reported about the two artistic
craftsmen. They were a topic of conversation like Franklin himself
whose attention they could not have escaped considering the number of
visitors he had.
What caused Roentgen and Kinzing to build Franklin clocks? We
are
not aware of any Franklin clocks made in Paris at this time. Likewise
there is no documentary evidence of such clocks in French horological
treatises of that time. It is very probable that
Franklin’s fame and popularity inspired Roentgen and
Kinzing
to begin constructing a Clock "a la Franklin".5. Franklin Clock made
bei Kinzing / Neuwied, case made by Roentgen.
The clocks existing today, however, prove that these Neuwied craftsmen
were aiming at a quite different clientele from that for whom Franklin
and Ferguson originally intended their designs. For the Neuwied
craftsmen only wealthy people were considered as potential customers
whom they had perhaps seen in Paris associated with the famous
Franklin. Fashionable Paris society had developed a mania for all
extraordinary novelties. Likeweise Franklin was by no means unknown in
Germany and there could have been a market here too as mentioned
before.

A simple clock for poor settlers or a plain precision timepiece for an
astronomer as Ferguson intended did not really fit into the tradition
of the house of Roentgen and Kinzing, but instead a decorative piece of
furniture with a hint of scientific inventiveness. The simple Franklin
clock would not have inspired any enthusiasm among Roentgen and
Kinzing’s prominent customers. The basic Franklin clock would
have to be refined. The hand mechanism is such a refinement. Either
Roetig had already worked on the hand mechanism or it was invented in
the Kinzing workshop at this stage. Moreover a precision timekeeper
would have to be created. To achieve this it was thought that the use
of a dead beat pinwheel escapement with compensating pendulum would be
suitable. Maintaining power during winding was effected by the use of
Huygen´s endless rope. Contemporary French precision
timekeepers
used these features very often and the movements were basically quite
similar. Alongside England France was a leading clockmaking nation at
this time and a movement incorporating these standard features must
surely be in demand. The Franklin dial with the three concentric rings
could also be used as a good sales argument. A clock like this must
sell well. This type of Franklin clock is supposed to have been made
between 1785 and 1790 in Neuwied and a certain period of preparation
must be allowed for before such a clock came on to the market - perhaps
a year or more. So the planning for the construction of such a clock
could have begun before 1784 at a time when France still seemed a good
market for it. Times changed, however, and by 1785 the state of France
was practically bankrupt. Roentgen must have foreseen the state of
affairs as he sold his branch in Paris on the 27th December 1785 to a
Mr. Frost. Obviously he no longer saw France as a potential market for
his products including the Franklin clocks. The French Revolution 1789
made this once and for all quite clear as Roentgen &
Kinzing’s former customers began to flee from France.
Consequently only the traditional markets in Germany, Eastern Europe,
Russia and Denmark were left. If one considers where the existing
clocks are to be found today or from where they originated this theory
seems very feasible.

7.The Franklin Clocks By Jacob Klug Of Mainz

Not so far from Neuwied in the city of Mainz another clockmaker by the
name of Jakob Klug also made around 1800 two Franklin clocks very
similar to the Neuwied Franklin clocks. The two clocks signed by him
differed from those made in Neuwied in that they also showed the date
and day of the week.[11] The cases, however, are not in the
style
of Roentgen. Little is known about Jacob Klug. On March 6th 1797 he
married the widow of one Peter Schmidt, Anna Margaretha Franziska
Schmidt, neé Balser. Klug died on 24th June 1833 in Mainz.
More
research will have to be done into the persons of Schmidt and Klug in
order to verify whether Peter Schmidt is identical with Pierre Schmidt
of Mainz who produced the clock illustrated in No 988 in
Maurice’s "Die Deutsche Räderuhr". This clock is
very
similar to the clock by Roentgen and Kinzing illustrated in Fabian List
No 38. Furthermore the question remains as to whether there is any
link between P. Schmidt of Mainz and the Schmidt whose name appears on
clocks signed by Achenbach and Schmidt Neuwied. It could therefore be
possible that the basic movements of the Franklin clocks by Klug
originated from Neuwied. This seems to be the case with the clock
signed "Reichel in Koestritz" which is almost certainly housed in a
Roentgen case. It is well known that Roentgen disbanded the workshops
and stock in Neuwied before the French revolutionary troops reached the
eastern side of the Rhine. Moveable stock was transported to
various places in Thüringen including the area around what is
today known as Bad Koestritz. Dr. Fabian in his learned
book deals
with the Franklin clock by Reichel [12] in detail and refers to the
connections with the Neuwied workshops.
Yet another Franklin Clock with a mechanism somewhat similar to the
Neuwied examples with a complete perpetual calendar is exhibited in the
Mainfränkisches Museum in Würzburg. It is signed on
the back
of the dial “J.Kaderhand”. A clockmaker of this
name
remains unknown. The movement is smaller than the aforementioned
examples, but resembles the workmanship of clockmakers in cities on the
Main such as Mainz, Aschaffenburg and Würzburg. [13]

6. Franklin clock
called Kaderhand clock.

8. The Neuwied Franklin Clock in The Collection of The
Worshipful Company of Clockmakers in London.

In 1989 we became aware of a Franklin Clock in the Collection of the
Worshipful Company of Clockmakers in London which in all probability
was made in Neuwied by Roentgen and Kinzing. The movement of this clock
is very similar to the Koestritz clock in that the brass pillars
between the plates are straight and not turned. Unfortunately the
London Clock is not signed, but the dial and hand are identical to the
Neuwied Franklin clocks. It has of course the pinwheel escapement. The
form of the case, however, differs somewhat from the Neuwied clocks
although the door, plinth, height of the case, and other details are
very reminiscent of Roentgen. Sir George White was kind enough to
supply information about the provenance of the clock. It was bequeathed
in the Nellthrop collection by a Mr d'Alquin in the late nineteenth
century who had purchased it in Neuwied. This seems to verify our
theory. [14]

9. Technical Details Of The Franklin Clocks

As already suggested Franklin probably intended to provide a clock as
economically as possible. The movement was to have 3 wheels and two
pinions. The ratchet wheel could also be omitted and replaced by a
spring hoop between the great wheel and the driving pulley engaging in
the spokes of the former as was usual in the thirty hour English
longcase clocks with Huygen’s endless rope winding. In his
diagrams Ferguson suggests the following wheel counts.

Escape wheel

30 teeth

Escape wheel pinion

8 teeth

Intermediary wheel

120 teeth

Intermediary wheel pinion

10 teeth

Great wheel

160 teeth

One assumes that the conventional recoil escapment with a seconds
pendulum was used. Wheel counts from other clocks are not all
known, but that of the Porthouse clock is recorded as follows:-

Escape wheel

42 teeth

Escape wheel pinion

6 teeth

Intermediary wheel

72 teeth

Intermediary wheel pinion

6 teeth

Great wheel

84 teeth

This does not allow the use of a seconds pendulum or seconds dial.

The Porthouse clock is described in detail in English horological
literature. If the wheel counts suggested by Ferguson or Franklin are
used large wheels with many teeth had to be made which was not so
compatible with cheap production. Likewise the dial with 240 divisions
would need very careful engraving or painting. We could even conclude
that the cost saved on materials was made up for by the cost of
production. Porthouse managed with wheels with fewer teeth by using 6
leaf pinions, but also included a striking train which also made the
movement more complicated. To what extent later examples deviated from
Franklin and Ferguson’s wheel counts is not known, but the
clocks
tend to become more complicated (e.g. the Vulliamy clock) and retain
only the 4 hour dial.

Roentgen and Kinzing introduced their version relatively early in the
history of Franklin Clocks retaining the three wheels and two pinions
in a half "inverted train" as it were (i.e. the escape wheel is planted
at the bottom of the train although the arbor of the pallets at the
top)

Escape wheel

30 teeth

Escape wheel pinion;

6 teeth

Intermediary wheel

96 teeth

Intermediary wheel pinion

8 teeth

Great or minute wheel

120 teeth

Kinzing used Huygen´s endless cord winding and a ratchet
wheel
and ratchet is mounted on the inside of the front plate. As the train
is inverted the escape wheel is at the bottom. Kinzing employs here the
pin wheel escapement as in some of his other clocks (the organ clocks
with the Apollo bronze, the regulator for Noble, the equation clock for
Leipzig). The pin wheel escapement was a French invention, but
widespread in Germany by this time. The form of the pallets is here
unique. They are pivoted at the top of the movement and consist of one
long arm and a shorter arm screwed on to it. Each arm ends in an
impulse pallet. (See photos) This version, seemingly devised by Kinzing
still has the advantage of imparting a short impulse and the stability
of the construction is insured by the shorter arm instead of two long
arms; the disadvantage being that the two arms are not as easily
adjustable as two arms fixed on the same axis. This type of pin wheel
escapement seems only to have been used by Kinzing on the Franklin
clocks. The pin wheel itself was cut in one piece from a brass blank
rather like a verge wheel instead of the usual French system where
holes were drilled into a disc and pins inserted. This type of pin
wheel is also to be found in Kinzing & Achenbach’s
table
clocks with dead beat escapement the combining pin wheel with small
flat set of pallets. The production of such a pin wheel is not so
complicated and probably more exact than the usual method but it has
the disadvantage that broken pins cannot be so easily replaced.
The pin wheel escapement is used in precision pendulum clocks, but in
the case of Kinzing’s Franklin clocks the escape wheel pinion
has
only six leaves. By modern standards this disqualifies his clock as a
precision timepiece. For practical purposes a six leaf pinion does not
act smoothly enough. In England at the same period precision regulators
had at least ten leaf pinions. However, it might be too critical to
reject this without taking into account that contemporary French
regulators used pinions with fewer leaves. Kinzing also employed
Huygen’s endless rope drive to achieve maintaining power with
all
its practical disadvantages - another feature reminiscent of French
regulators. The principal defect of his clock, however, is also its
special trade mark - the hand mechanism.

9. The Hand Mechanism Of The Neuwied Franklin Clocks

The ingenious system moves within a few minutes the smaller hour hand
in the aperture of the minute hand to indicate another hour ring every
four hours when the large minute hand has completed one revolution and
passes the sixty minute mark at the very top of the dial. Because of
the excessive restistance and friction caused by this procedure the
movement needs twice as much more power to drive it during these few
minutes than when the hand mechanism is not being engaged. In practical
terms the movement needs a weight of less than 1000 grams to drive it
without the hand mechanism and about 1800 grams with it.

7.
Hand mechanism of the Neuwied Franklin clocks, reproduction.

Turning with the main wheel arbor there is a cylinder into which the
minute hand is fixed. At the other end of the cylinder is attached a
stepped rectangular plate at the end of which is mounted a 6 pointed
star wheel. On the star wheel pipe is also attached a double headed
cam. Down the length of one side of the plate there is a raised slide
which passes through the inside of the cylinder carrying at this point
a long pin which engages the extension of the smaller hour hand on the
underside of the minute hand thus controlling it. At one end of the
slide there are two small pins (resting on the edges of the curved
cams); on the other end of the slide a long flat spring is attached
which presses the pins lightly on to the cam and returns the slide to
its original position after three revolutions of the minute hand. (see
photos)* Each time the large minute hand (and the cylinder and plate
accordingly) complete one revolution every four hours the star wheel
engages a pin fixed to the front plate which causes it to move 120
degrees (i.e. two points of the star). Thus the cam is turned
simultaneously and this circular movement of the cam is converted into
a linear movement of the slide as the curves of the cam lift the pins
one after the other. The movement of the slide is transferred to the
small hour hand by the long pin in the cylinder (see photos). The cam
and the pins are so positioned that the slide and hand fall back to
their starting point after 3 revolutions.

11. The Pendulum Of The Neuwied Franklin Clocks

As already mentioned Kinzing used a nine rod gridiron compensating
pendulum with either spring or knife- edge suspension. To use a double
suspension spring at that time was quite advanced as it was not so easy
to construct. Even if Roentgen and Kinzing introduced some innovations
as far as the movements suspension and case were concerned this
creativity is lacking completely in the construction of the pendulum
itself. The design of the pendulum was copied from the contemporary
French examples in practically every detail. It is obvious that they
were modelled on the pendulums in some clocks by Berthoud. It is not as
if only one technically exact version of this construction is possible.
Other variations still retain the compensating effects as proved by
examples from other clockmakers of this period. It could be that
Kinzing was wary of experimenting with the pendulum preferring to play
safe. In all probability there was no pyrometer available in Neuwied to
test the materials employed for their coefficient of expansion and thus
the exact temperature compensation. This branch of clock making would
have been new to the clockmakers of Neuwied. The fact that Germany was
not a naval power at this time and, as opposed to France and England,
did not have such an important merchant navy, the need for and
construction of precision timepieces was not very widespread. As far as
we know Kinzing and Roentgen used compensating pendulums of this type
only in their Franklin Clocks, the regulator built for James Noble in
Barby/Elbe, the equation clock for the city of Leipzig, and another
equation clock similar to the latter sold in auction in London in 2003.
The month going clocks have centre seconds and Harrison´s
maitaining power. They are equipped with a conventional train with
higher leaf pinions than the Franklin clocks and thus on a par with
typical precision timekeepers. They are in fact comparable with French
precision pendulum clocks of the period by such makers as Le Paute or
Berthoud.
It does not make technical sense to use a precision compensating
pendulum in a clock with complicated striking mechanism or, as here in
the Franklin clocks, with a hand mechanism as these cause unnecessary
disturbances in the train affecting the exactitude of the
pendulum. It would be interesting to know whether Kinzing was aware of
this when he fitted the pendulums to his Franklin clocks.

12. Conclusion

The history of Franklin clocks ends here. Individual clockmakers took
up Franklins design well into the first half of the nineteenth century
and made sporadic examples of this type of clock. It seems as if
Roentgen and Kinzing were the only two to produce a
series of this type of clock, the others were just "one-offs".
[15] Nevertheless all attempts to introduce an alternative to the
traditional twelve hour - two hand system of the telling the time for
domestic purposes have failed, eg. the decimal time of the French
Revolution period, the twenty four hour dial, and even the digital
watches.
The authors of this article have continued the tradition of Franklin
clocks by reconstructing one along the lines of the Kinzing movement
with the hand mechanism. Mr. Fowler made the movement and Mr. Denkel
the compensating pendulum. We are very grateful to Goodacre Engraving
for producing an exact replica of the dial.
The reconstruction of the movement inspired us to do some
research into the history of Franklin clocks in general. We would of
course be very grateful for any information which would
answer any questions posed in this article. It would also be very
interesting to know if Franklin clocks became at all
widespread in North America. As far as we know Franklin
clocks were not made in France where at that time there was a lot of
enthusiasm about England and America.
[1] Neuwied is town on the eastern side of the Rhine, just north of
Koblenz. It was built in the seventeenth and eigthteenth century by the
Counts of Wied, who guaranteed freedom from religious persecution, thus
attracting religious minorities. The latter included skilled craftsmen.
Among these were the Moravian family of cabinetmakers, Roentgen, and
the Mennonite family of clockmakers, Kinzing.

[7] Lübke, Anton: Die berühmten Uhrmacher von
Hachenburg. in:
Westerwälder Zeitung, Heimatblatt der Rhein Zeitung
für die
Westerwaldkreise. Ausgabe F N 7210A Nr. 209, 1962.
Hachenburg is a small town 25 miles north of Neuwied
in the remoter Westerwald. The town was the residence of the Counts of
Sayn-Hachenburg.

[8] Huth, H.: Abraham und David Roentgen und ihre
Neuwieder Möbelwerkstatt, 2. Aufl., München 1974.
Roentgen, David, son of Abraham, German cabinetmakers by
appointment to nearly all ruling families of Europe in the second half
of the eigthteenth century. David introduced a revolutionary classical
style around 1780. He was very much a business man and created
extravagant furniture. Peter Kinzing supplied complicated clock
movements for his elaborate cases.

[10] Wall clocks - what is probably
meant here are 30 hour or 8 day
duration striking clocks housed in simple wooden cases which could be
also stood on a trunk to produce a simple longcase clock. Such clocks
made at this period signed Roetig (Rettig) are known of in the
Hachenburg area contrary to Huth´s statement. They were made
in
the surrounding areas (Siegerland, Sauerland, Bergisches Land) in
considerable numbers in this period.
[11] Erbrich, Klaus:
Präzisionspendeluhren. München 1978. S. 142,
145.

[14] The Worshipful Company of the Clockmakers: Catalogue of the Museum
of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers of London in the Guildhall
Library,

[15] Other clocks from England and Ireland:
a. other Franklin Clocks are known of in the Anglo-Saxon countries. One
is a wall clock by Porthouse of Penrith dated 1810 and one by Austin of
Dublin dated 1820.

b. Other Specific Examples of Franklin Clocks
There is a clock by Samuel Roi in the museum of la Chaux de Fond with a
spiral indication in the centre of the dial but with a three
hour
dial and four coil spiral- ie. not a Franklin dial. The minutes are
indicated on the spiral between the hours. A speciality of this clock
is that the hand alters in length continuously. It is not known whether
Roi was inspired by the Franklin dial or not.

In the Kernstock Museum in the castle of Festenberg there is a late
eighteenth century clock by Sebastian Fuchs. It has a conventional set
of hands and 60 minutes divisions on the periphery of the dial. It also
has, strangely enough, the three concentric rings with the four hours
shown in arabic numerals.

There is a longcase clock of one year duration made by Anton Schmied of
Vienna at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The hours are
indicated on a subsidiary dial showing the twelve hours twice. Two
other subsidiary dials show seconds and date. Schmied used the Franklin
dial in order to simplify his gear ratios ( a wheel and pinion could
thus be saved).

A Franklin Clock by Baumgärtinger of Bad Mergentheim was sold
in
auction in Switzerland in 199?. It is presumed to have been formerly in
the possession of the house of Thurn und Taxis in Regensburg.

The Black Forest Franklin Clock was exhibited in an exhibition
“Und ewig ticken die Wälder” in the State
Museum of
Baden in Karlsruhe 199?......................

A South German (Austrian) or Swiss Franklin Clock with a painted dial
was exhibited in an exhibition in La Chaux de Fonds
199?...